Thermo-duster alcohol burning fungicide sublimer



p 1969 J.R.OGLEVEE 3,469,933

THERMO-DUSTER ALCOHOL BURNING FUNGICIDE SUBLIMER Filed April 27, 1967 2Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR JAMES ROBERT OGLEVEE BY%1 m1 4 M m ATTORNEYSSept. 30, 1969 J. R. OGLEVEE 3,469,933

THERMO-DUSTER ALCOHOL BURNING FUNGICIDE SUBLIMER Filed April 27, 1967 2Sheets-$heet FIG. 6

INVENTOP JAMES ROBERT OGLEVEE ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent Office 3,469,933 Patented Sept. 30, 1969 3,469,933THERMO-DUSTER ALCOHOL BURNING FUNGICIDE SUBLIMER James Robert Oglevee,Connellsville, Pa., assignor to' Oglevee Floral Company, Inc.,Connellsville, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Apr. 27, 1967,Ser. No. 634,361 Int. Cl. A611 3/00 US. Cl. 21-117 1 Claim ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention Thisinvention relates to alcohol stoves generally and more particularly to acompact stove especially designed for volatilizing a solid fungicide inwhich the length of the combustion chamber may be varied.

Description of the prior art Alcohol stoves generally are Well known inthe prior art and many such stoves have been specially adapted for manypurposes; however, the alcohol stoves of the prior art have been foundunsuitable for the present application because in general they are toocumbersome, expensive, and more importantly, do not provide for adequateadjustment of the length of the combustion chamber and of the distancebetween the source of alcohol and the insecticide to be volatilized. Inthe present application, this latter feature is of the utmostimpor-tance since the insecticide vapors are combustible in themselves.Lack of adjustability prevents utilization of the conventional alcoholstove for the present purposes.

SUMMARY This invention is directed to a specially designed compactalcohol stove which burns alcohol for subliming a solid fungicide suchas Termil, which is Diamond Alkali Companys trademark fortetrachloro-isophthalonitrile. The alcohol burning stove comprises agenerally cylindrical combustion chamber which in turn comprises a lowersection having a cylindrical portion and a conical apron extendingdownwardly and outwardly therefrom, an upper cylindrical section whichis formed from a sheet of metal curved to the shape of a cylinder havingan overlapping lip area which is pivotally connected at the top andclamps together at the bottom about the cylindrical portion of the lowersection, a plurality of fingers extending from the top of the uppersection supporting a specially designed fungicide containing vesselwhich has a flat bottom portion substantially of the same diameter asthe combustion chamber with upwardly and outwardly extending conicalwalls connected at the top to a laterally extending flange, and aspecially designed support for supporting the combustion chamber adistance above a surface and for supporting a combustion vessel ofalcohol immediately below the combustion chamber. Specific objects ofthe invention include the provision of the specially designed combustionvessel in combination with the combustion chamber and the provision ofthe specially designed combustion chamber which is adjustable in length.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view ofthe subliming stove of this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the alcohol burning stove of thisinvention shown partially in cross section taken substantially alonglines 2-2 of FIGURE 1 in the direction of the arrows.

FIGURE 3 is a top view of the stove taken from the top of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a top view of the stove in partial crosssection takensubstantially along lines 4--4 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of an alternative and preferredembodiment of the present invention.

FIGURE 6 is a side elevational view shown in partial cross section takensubstantially along lines 6-6 in the direction of the arrows as shown inFIGURE 5.

FIGURE 7 is a top cross-sectional. view taken substantially along lines7--7 looking downward in the direction of the arrows as shown in FIGURE2.

FIGURE 8 is a side perspective view in partial cutaway showing the topslidable element of the stove of the present invention.

FIGURE 9 is a top plan view showing the arrange ment of the burner andthe support plate of the preferred embodiment of the invention lookingdownwardly thereon.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT While alcohol stoves are wellknown in the prior art, considerable difliculty has been experienced indesigning and producing an alcohol stove which is sufficiently portable,inexpensive, and rugged for use in greenhouses. Even such stoves as havethese characteristics have not been satisfactory because no means wasprovided for adjusting the length of the combustion chamber, fordirecting the heated gases about the volatilization vessel, and foradjusting the distance of the volatilization vessel above the combustionvessel. The present invention comprises a stove, specially designed foruse with the solid fungicide tetrachloro-iso-phthalonitrile, sold underthe trade name Termil by Diamond Alkali Company, which sublimes whenheated and, if properly heated, under the correct circumstances, will bedistributed sufficiently to treat an area up to 25 feet on each side ofa unit in the open and to treat greenhouses of up to 32 feet in width.

In one preferred embodiment, the stove comprises a generally cylindricalcombustion chamber 10 which in turn comprises an upper section 12 and alower section 14 which includes a cylindrical portion and a conicalapron 16 extending outwardly and downwardly therefrom. The upper section12 comprises a sheet of metal which is formed to a cylinder having anoverlapping lip area 18 which is held together at the bottom by a clamp20 and is pivotally connected together at the top by a pin 21 which alsosecures a finger 22 which extends upwardly from the top of thecombustion chamber. Fingers 24, 26 and 28 are similarly secured to thetop of the combustion chamber and extend upwardly therefrom to support avolatilization vessel 30. Volatilization vessel 30 comprises a bottomportion 32 which is generally flat and is of substantially the samediameter as the internal diameter of the combustion chamber and issupported directly above the outlet of the combustion chamber to bedirectly contacted by the exiting heated gases therefrom. Conical walls34 extend upwardly and outwardly from flat bottom 32 to an outwardlylaterally extending flange 36. The configuration of the bottom, walls,

and flange are of considerable importance in the invention. First, it isnecessary that the bottom of the vessel intersect the heated gases fromthe combustion chamber to volatilize the fungicide in the vessel.Secondly, it is necessary to heat the sides of the vessel to preventrecrystallization of the fungicide on the sides, which would occur if nomeans were provided for heating the sides of the vessel. Thirdly, it isnecessary to direct the heated gases, then, away from the top of thevessel since the fungicide is in itself flammable and would burn ifpermitted to contact the heated gases directly. These functions areadmirably accomplished by the design of the fungicide vessel 30. Heatingoccurs on the bottom plate which is substantially fiat, is positioneddirectly above the outlet of the combustion chamber to intercept theheated gases exiting therefrom. The heated gases then flow up the sides34 to prevent recrystallization of the fungicide and are then directedoutwardly by flange 36. In addition to providing the highly desirableresults previously described, this configuration of the fungicide vesseland its unique cooperative relationship with the combustion chamberprovides additional spreading of the fungicide since a stream of heatedair is moving outwardly as well as upwardly from the combustion chamber.

A support for the combustion chamber proper and for the combustionvessel is shown at 40. The support comprises, in one embodiment, across-shaped member, which may 'be a single sheet of metal formed in thedescribed manner or it may be a plurality of units connected together toform the cross-shaped metal member. The cross-shaped metal memberincludes four legs, 42, 44, 46 and 48, each of which has a shelf portion50, 52, 54 and 56, respectively. A central platform area 60 is formed atthe intersection of the legs and is connected thereto by horizontalportions 62, 64, 66 and 68, and by tapering combustion vesselside-supporting portions 70, 72, 74 and 76. An alcohol vessel 80, havingan upwardly and outwardly extending conical wall 82 secured to a flatbottom 84 is supported centrally of the support member directly belowthe cylindrical combustion chamber. The entire assembly is preferablysupported upon a plate 86 which may be of metal or of asbestos.

In a specific embodiment which has been found to be highly successful,the overall length of the combustion chamber, including the conicalapron, is adjustable from about 8 /2 to about 11% inches with thefingers extending about 1% inches above the top of the combustionchamber. The subliming vessel is 4 /8 inches in diameter at the flange.The combustion chamber is supported approximately 1 /z inches above thebase plate which is 8 inches square. The top of the fuel cup isapproximately 3 inches above the base plate.

As in the previous embodiment, the stove comprises a generallycylindrical combustion chamber 111} which in turn comprises an uppersection 112 and a lower section 114 which includes attached thereto aconical apron 116 extending outwardly and downwardly therefrom.

In this embodiment the upper section 112 is made of sheet metal andcomprises an overlapping lip portion 118 which includes, as best shownin FIGURE 7, overlapping end portions 120 and 122 secured together by aplurality of rivets 124.

The other portion is slidably received over the lower portion 114 whichis also made of sheet metal and includes a lip portion 126 which, asshown in FIGURE 7, includes overlapping portions 128 and 130 securedtogether by a plurality of rivets 132.

An important feature of the invention is the provision of an adjustmenttab 134. The adjustment tab is disposed over the seam in the lip area113 of the upper portion 112 and is secured in place by a rivet 136which has an inwardly protruding end 138. This tab serves two functions.First, it reduces or prevents the escape of gases and the entry of gasesin the upper portion of the combustion chamber but more importantly itprovides means for slidably securing the upper portion over the lowerportion in a desired position. The tab 134 is of a resilient materialand prevents undesired slippage between the upper and lower sections.Thus, when the combustion chamber length has been set it will remain asset.

A plurality of fingers 140, 140' and 140" are secured by rivets 142 onthe upper end of the upper portion 112. These fingers extend outwardlyand upwardly for supporting a volatilization vessel 144 which isgenerally of the type previously described with respect to the firstembodiment. This vessel includes a bottom portion 146 for supporting thematerial to be volatilized, outwardly sloping walls 148 for directingthe combustion gases upwardly and outwardly and a lip 150 which may bereverted at 152 for strength, for directing the combustion gasesoutwardly away from the gases produced by volatilization of the materialin the receptacle.

The conical portion 116 is also made of sheet metal and includes a lipportion 154 which is secured together by a plurality of rivets 156 in amanner similar to that escribed with respect to the upper and lowerportions. An annular lip 158 fits over an annularly formed boss 160 forsecuring the conical apron to the lower portion of the combustionchamber.

A base plate 162 is provided for supporting the stove. The base plateincludes a plurality of tabs 164 taken therefrom and extendingsubstantially vertically upwardly therefrom. Of course, this leavesopening 166 in the base plate.

As best shown in FIGURE 6, the tabs 164 include an upwardly extendingmember 168 which includes a fiat portion 170 on the top thereof and anupwardly extending portion therefrom 172 for engaging the bottom ofapron 116. On the inside, a vertical portion 174 is provided forengaging the combustion vessel 176.

The combustion vessel 176 comprises a bottom cylindrical container 178and a top cylindrical member 180. The bottom cylindrical container 178includes a bottom portion 182 and cylindrical walls 184. The tops of thecylindrical walls are secured as at 186 to the bottom of cylindricalmember 180. Cylindrical member comprises a flame deflector and has a topclosure memher 188 supported by vertical members 190 leaving apertures192 for escape of the burning alcohol.

This type of combustion vessel and flame detector provides a very highefficiency of the alcohol since the vapors are more thoroughly mixedwith the air as it passes upwardly from the base plate along the wallsof the apron to the combustion chamber.

OPERATION The fuel cup or combustion chamber is filled approximatelyone-half full of denatured alcohol to give a burning time of from about6 to 8 minutes.

The combustion chamber is then placed over the combustion vessel andadjusted to about ten inches in length overall. not including thesupport fingers. A desired amount of Termil is placed in the sublimingvessel and the vessel is placed on the support fingers. The alcohol isthen ignited. While most of the combustion of the alcohol occurs nearthe surface of the combustion vessel, significant quantities of alcoholvapor are carried further into the combustion chamber by air being drawnin from below the combustion chamber, past the edges of the combustionvessel where the alcohol vapors are mixed with the air, and into thecombustion chamber proper. The combination is completed in thecombustion chamber. Depending on atmospheric conditions, the purity ofthe alcohol, and perhaps other variables, it is necesary to adjust thelength of the combustion chamber to prevent flame from shooting up pastthe subliming vessel. The adjustment is made by loosening clamp 20 andmoving the upper section up or down with respect to the lower section inthe first embodiment or simply by sliding the upper member relative tothe lower member in the second embodiment, the position being maintainedby the resilient tap 134. In the first embodiment, once the properadjustment is obtained, the clamp is tightened and the length of thecombustion chamber will not generally need additional adjustment unlessthere is a significant change in atmospheric or other conditions. Theheated air and the combustion gases then move upwardly and exit throughthe top of the combustion chamber where they are intercepted by thebottom of the subliming vessel and directed up the sides thereof anddirected outwardly therefrom by flange 36. Generally, it takes about oneto one and and one-half minutes for the Termil to begin to sublime andthe sublimation should be completed in about five minutes. If a longertime is required, the length of the combustion chamber should bereduced.

It will thus be seen from the preceding description that the sublimingstove of this invention may be economically manufactured but that it hashighly desirable and essential characteristics for successfulsublimation of fungicides such as tetrachloro-isophthalonitrile.Obviously, by making the proper adjustments, other volatile fungicidesmay similarly be sublimed. Indeed, wherever Volatilization and spreadingof a fungicide or other volatile material is a satisfactory method oftreatment, the stove of the present invention will find application byadjusting the dimensions properly. The stove described is unusuallyelficient and gives an unexpectedly large area of treatment.

While the invention has been abstracted, summarized, and disclosed inspecific terms, in order to permit those skilled in the art to practicethe invention with the greatest facility, it will be realized that thedisclosure is not intended in the limiting sense. Accordingly, thebreadth of the invention is limited only by the scope of the appendedclaim.

I claim:

1. An alcohol burning fungicide subliming stove, comprising:

a cylindrical combustion chamber including,

a cylindrical lower section,

a cylindrical upper section slidably overlapping the lower section,

a vertically oriented elongate tab secured internally of the uppersection to secure the upper and lower sections adjustably together sothat the generally cylindrical combustion chamber is adjustable inlength,

a plurality of fingers rigidly secured to the upper end of said uppersection of said combustion chamber and extending upwardly therefrom,

a subliming vessel supported on said fingers positioned directly abovethe upper end of said combustion chamber,

said subliming vessel including a generally flat bottom member having adiameter substantially equal to the inside diameter of the combustionchamber,

conical side walls extending outwardly and upwardly from the bottommember for deflecting heated gases exiting from the combustion chamber,and

a circular flange extending laterally outwardly from the top of theconical sides for deflecting heated gases outwardly away from thecontents of said vessel to prevent combustion of vapors leaving saidvessel,

a combustion vessel for containing alcohol,

means supporting the combustion chamber a predetermined distance above asurface and for supporting the combustion vessel directly below thecombustion chamber for permitting air to sweep from beneath thecombustion chamber, past the combustion vessel Where said air is mixedwith alcohol vapors, and into the combustion chamber where completecombustion is eifected to heat said sublirning vessel to volatilizefungicide crystals contained there- 1n,

said lower section further including a conical apron extendingdownwardly and outwardly from a cylindrical portion for directing airadjacent the edges of the combustion vessel,

the means for supporting the combustion chamber including a horizontalplanar member, and a plurality of vertically oriented tabs extendingupwardly from the planar member, said tabs each having at least onesupport portion for supporting the combustion chamber with thevertically oriented tabs defining a central area for fixing the locationof the combustion vessel in spaced relation from the sides and bottom ofthe lower section, said combustion vessel including a lower containersection having a bottom and cylindrical walls, and

an upper flame spreader section having a top cover and means supportingthe top cover a spaced distance above the top of the cylindrical walls,said supporting means defining openings for egress of vapors for mixingof said vapors with air.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 472,645 4/1892 Spencer 21-117608,967 8/1898 Kastle et a1. 21-117 630,782 8/1899 Schmidt 21-1171,232,457 7/1917 Campbell 126-40 1,798,785 3/1931 Carter 431-3532,541,637 2/1951 Christopher et a1. 21-53 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 280 1/ 1904Great Britain.

OTHER REFERENCES Scherings Formalin Disinfector, catalog, October 1897,pp. 9, l0.

MORRIS O. WOLK, Primary Examiner D. G. MILLMAN, Assistant Examiner U.S.Cl. X.R.

